What Grealish wants

A 2011 tweet from Jack Grealish's Twitter account has resurfaced ahead of the Second City derby.

Aston Villa's in-form attacker and lifelong fan explained how his dream has always been to score the winning goal for the claret and blues in front of the Holte End.

The tweet read: "We all have 1 dream... Mine is & always has been to score the winner infront of the holte end against birmingham ! Dreams!!, Reality!!"

And now CEO Keith Wyness has re-tweeted with the caption: "That has become my dream this weekend as well, go do it Jack."

Grealish got off the mark on Saturday in the 3-2 win over Burton Albion and is hoping to add more goals to his game.

No brainer

Birmingham City boss Steve Cotterill has a big decision to make ahead of Sunday's second city derby.

Blues take on their bitter rivals at Villa Park without first-choice left back Jonathan Grounds, who was taken off injured in the victory at Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday with suspected ligament damage in his knee.

Cohen Bramall was his replacement off the bench in that match but Cotterill changed the formation for Tuesday's FA Cup fourth round reply defeat to Huddersfield to accommodation Bramall in a more advanced position.

Bramall's fellow Arsenal loanee Carl Jenkinson also came in to Blues' starting eleven last night as a right wing-back and impressed in only his third appearance for the club.

But Cotterill will revert to his preferred system with four defenders for the clash against Villa which throws up a selection dilemma.

Does Bramall fill in directly for Grounds on the left or is one of Maxime Colin or Jenkinson shifted over to that side with the other playing on the right?

HannoverBlues: Swapping Colin back to a left back role and replacing him at right back with Jenkinson has its merits, considering Paul Robinson for certain games, but not Villa, is an outside proposition, but I'd go with the continuity of Colin at right back and bring Jenkinson in at left back as he's played there before and is a vastly experienced and classy footballer. I'm hoping Cotterill saying "I don't think so" is him deliberately misleading the press and opposition.

Jimbo25: Move Colin to LB and Jenkinson RB. It may not be a bad thing playing a right footer on the left against Vile, might counteract Snodgrass coming in from the right on to his left foot. Jenkinson's a good right back and Colin as played on the left before so seems a no brainer to me.

Gazal: Switch Colin for now. He has played the position in the past and although it isn't the best balance it gets the job done. Started the season on that side for Brentford as he was better than what they had got on the left at that time, and he did ok.

WirralBlue: Why had no one mentioned Paul Robinson? Still contracted to the club and was originally recruited for that position.

Egneg: Seems stupid that a player as good as Jenkinson cant get into the starting 11.

Jamesfol5: Feel like taking Jenkinson off hindered us massively. Jenkinson was playing well, maybe playing him Sunday?

Jenkinson on Villa clash

Blues make the short journey across the city looking to win at their nearest neighbour’s home for the first time since December 2004.

That would not only boost Blues’ survival chances but it would be a set-back to their rivals’ promotion hopes.

Blues will be roared on by 2,100 supporters - and have the attention of thousands more, of which Jenkinson is all too aware.

“Any derby is a great thing to play in,” the Arsenal loan man told Blues TV.

“When I signed for Birmingham in the summer the Villa fixtures are the first ones you look for - that’s why you want to be a footballer, to play in those sort of games.

“Everyone is looking froward to it, we know what it means to the fans and to everyone involved at Birmingham City, everyone is buzzing for it.”

Blues go into the game with the fourth best form record in the division over the last six games. They have won four of those matches and drawn one and have lifted themselves out of the relegation zone.

But with six wins out of six, Steve Bruce’s men boast the best return in the Championship.

Jenkinson’s hopes of playing in the game have been massively boosted by his own return to fitness after four months out with a dislocated shoulder.

Jenkinson's message

Blues make the short journey across the city looking to win at their nearest neighbour’s home for the first time since December 2004.

That would not only boost Blues’ survival chances but it would be a set-back to their rivals’ promotion hopes.

Blues will be roared on by 2,100 supporters - and have the attention of thousands more, of which Jenkinson is all too aware.

“Any derby is a great thing to play in,” the Arsenal loan man told Blues TV.

“When I signed for Birmingham in the summer the Villa fixtures are the first ones you look for - that’s why you want to be a footballer, to play in those sort of games.

“Everyone is looking froward to it, we know what it means to the fans and to everyone involved at Birmingham City, everyone is buzzing for it.”

Blues go into the game with the fourth best form record in the division over the last six games. They have won four of those matches and drawn one and have lifted themselves out of the relegation zone.

But with six wins out of six, Steve Bruce’s men boast the best return in the Championship.

Jenkinson’s hopes of playing in the game have been massively boosted by his own return to fitness after four months out with a dislocated shoulder.

He started the FA Cup defeat to Huddersfield on Tuesday night before being replaced - and potentially saved for Sunday’s showdown.

“It was another 72 minutes,” he continued. “I am feeling good, I am building on it every game and I have got my sharpness back.

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Cup exit - not all bad news

Birmingham City are free to concentrate on the most important task at hand, staying in the Championship, after dreams of playing Manchester United were dashed by Huddersfield Town.

Blues led 1-0 but were pegged back in regulation time then overwhelmed in extra time as the depth of Huddersfield’s squad finally paid dividends.

But despite the scoreline - and the loss of what would have been a high-profile Fifth Round tie, there were positives for Steve Cotterill to take.

Here’s what stood out.

The opposition

This game needs a bit of context. Huddersfield don’t carry the same prestige as a top Premier League team, like Manchester United, City or Chelsea, but Steve Cotterill’s observation of how much they have improved since joining the top flight rang true.

Everyone’s known about Aaron Mooy’s quality for some time - well before the Terriers spent £8m to acquire his services permanently last summer.

But players like Philip Billing, Tom Ince and Rajiv van La Parra look to have moved on massively since being exposed to top flight football.

That said, Blues took a team - which contained eight players who held United goalless in the first half at Old Trafford on Saturday - to extra time.

And it was a Blues team containing just four regular starters. It was hardly surprising they wilted towards the end.

Blues will have Maxime Colin, David Davis, Maikel Kieftenbeld, Sam Gallagher, Jeremie Boga and perhaps Jacques Maghoma back in their starting line-up on Sunday.

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Gunner come good

Carl Jenkinson looks to have emerged as a key player for Blues. The Arsenal loan man turned in another polished display at right wing back.

He was attentive to his defensive duties, by and large took care of his back post and held his position well, but also keen to get forward and support the attack.

He was withdrawn after 70 minutes and replaced by Josh Dacres-Cogley, a move that had all the hallmarks of combining the need to get some minutes into him after a long injury, whilst also saving him for bigger games ahead.

That might be reading too much into the situation but Jenkinson looks to have emerged as a contender to start against Blues’ rivals on Sunday.

Cameron Jerome

Blues were one of a number of Championship clubs said to have taken an interest in Jerome as Norwich City looked to trim their wage bill.

A new striker was high on the club's agenda as January approached but Sam Gallagher's form negated the need to bring in another forward as the window progressed

Steve Cotterill said: “I would imagine there is probably a lot of clubs linked with Cameron Jerome at this moment in time.

“But I don’t talk about players that are other clubs’ unless the deal is done and they end up being our player. I wouldn’t disrespect Norwich or any other club.”

Derby beat off competition from around the division to sign Jerom for around £1.5million.

He was denied a late penalty on his debut against Bristol City - and instead was controversially booked for what the referee deemed a dive in the box.

But his didn't have to wait too long for his first Rams goal, opening his account for the club on Saturday.

Sam Field

Field was one of the names mentioned in the last week of the window.

The left-footed midfielder broke into West Brom's first team this season and starred against Tottenham at Wembley in November before scoring his first goal for the club against Newcastle three days later.

A number of other Championship clubs made enquiries to take Field on loan but Baggies boss Alan Pardew was not prepared to sanction a move.

He said: “I certainly won’t be moving him on.”

Field featured twice for Albion in January, in an FA Cup win at Exeter and in a defeat to Manchester City in the Premier League.

Carlton Cole

Blues and Hull have were reported to have made contact with the frontman- though Cole was always considered a surprise option given his age and the fact he he had been training with League One outfit AFC Wimbledon.

The free agent had spent a period with Neil Ardley’s outfit and and scored for them in an Under 23s game.

But a potential move by any English club would have been complicated as Cole would need to have gained international clearance because his last club was in Indonesia.

The former West Ham forward is still searching for new employers.

Jack Marriott

Scouts from Blues watched the prolific striker earlier this season - and a host of other Championship sides were also keen.

He had hit 24 goals in 40 appearances by the time deadline day came around but the fee demanded by Peterborough's put off potential suitors and certainly priced Blues out of a move.

The Posh were asking for £6million minimum for the 23-year-old who helped knock Aston Villa out of the FA Cup.

Marriott name is certainly on to keep an eye on and he'll surely be on the move this summer if he can keep up his red-hot form.